The present invention relates generally to overcurrent protection.
Plug-in type fuses, such as blade fuses, generally include a fuse link in electrical communication with a pair of terminals. The fuse element and terminals are housed in a plastic fuse body. The terminals extend out of the housing, so that the fuse may be mounted into a fuse block of an automobile. Such blade type fuses have become very popular, especially in automotive applications.
Recently, “low profile” blade fuses have been introduced. One such “low profile” blade fuse is described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/076,101 (“the '101 Application”), entitled “Low Profile Automotive Fuse”, US 20050212647, filed Mar. 7, 2005, assigned to the assignee of the present invention, the entire contents of which are incorporated hereby be reference. The fuse in the '101 Application includes a pair of “low profile” terminals and an insulative housing that covers a portion but not all of the terminals. In particular, the housing covers an inner portion of the terminals but exposes the outer edges and at least a portion of the top edges of the terminals. The “low profile” nature of the terminals is possible because the female fuse block terminals is configured to connect the exposed outer edges of the “low profile” terminals instead of the portion of the terminals that extend beneath the housing for standard blade fuses. Low profile fuses are advantageous, at least in part, because they are less costly and require less space than do standard blade fuses.
With any type of blade fuse, moisture inadvertently contacting any conductive part of the plug-in fuse can cause problems. In an extreme situation, the moisture can extend across the terminals causing a second current path, which can negate the effectiveness of the element. Alternatively or additionally, the moisture can cause the terminals and/or the fuse element and corresponding female terminals to corrode. Corrosion of the male and female terminals can lead to a poor electrical connection and/or a connection between the male and female terminals that is difficult to disassemble.
Water resistant fuse holders are available. A typical use for such water resistant fuse holder is the aftermarket. Here, an automobile owner or servicer may add an electrical component to the automobile that requires a fuse. Interestingly, manufacturers also use a large amount of such water resistant fuse holders.
Existing water resistant fuse holders are relatively expensive. Further, no such holder exists for the “low profile” blades fuses described above. For these and other reasons, it is desirable to provide improved water resistant fuse holders.